The Gateway notebook roll-out is official. Sony's is not. Gateway Computer announced three lines of notebook PCs on Monday with 64-bit Windows, while Circuit City prematurely posted images of upcoming Sony notebooks.
Gateway 14-inch T6836
(Credit: Gateway )Gateway rolled out three notebooks targeted at students. The P series desktop replacement comes with a 17-inch widescreen, the M series with a 15.4-inch screen, and the T series uses a 14.1-inch screen.
All systems come with 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium and pack 4GB of memory--the minimum for acceptable performance in 64-bit Windows.
(See Gateway goes all 64-bit in back-to-school desktops.)
The 15-inch "Garnet Red" Gateway M-6848 is spec'd with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor, 4GB of memory, a 250GB hard disk drive, 802.11a/b/g,a wireless, DVD-R/RW drive, and Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1. It retails for $799.99.
The 14-inch "Pacific Blue" Gateway T-6836 notebook has virtually the same specifications. It also retails for $799.99.
Other features include a multimedia panel integrated into the keyboard, DVD burner with LabelFlash technology, and an integrated Webcam.
Upcoming Sony retail notebook
Meanwhile, details about upcoming Sony notebooks continue to seep out.
Circuit City prematurely posted photos of the upcoming Sony portables. (Though Circuit City has pulled the links, cached images are still accessible.)
Last week, less colorful user-manual images appeared at Notebookreview.com as well as tidbits about various models. Apparently, models will use Intel's next-generation Centrino 2 "Montevina" processor, graphics chips from Advance Micro Devices' ATI unit, and sport 13- and 16-inch screens.
Quad-core processors boasting lower power and packing more transistors are arriving at mass-market retail.
HP Pavilion Slimline desktop s3430f uses a low-power AMD quad-core processor
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)These latest chips from Advanced Micro Devices and Intel are now populating consumer desktops from Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, among other prominent PC makers. What makes them different? Intel's are made on a 45-nanometer process, and AMD's run at a lower power.
First up: AMD and its new power-sipping quad-core 9100e Phenom. HP is now offering its space-saving Slimline Pavilion desktop with the 9100e, which draws only 65 watts. Typically, quad-core processors draw 95 watts or higher. Intel's popular Q6600, for example, has a thermal envelope rated at 105 watts.
The HP s3430f system also packs 4GB of PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 500GB (7200 rpm) Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk drive, and an Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT graphics processor. The system is priced at $999 at Best Buy.
Next up, Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9xxx series of 45nm quad-core processors. Although the Q9550, Q9450, and Q9300 CPUs were announced at the beginning of January, they were delayed, pushing back availability in the distribution channel until mid-March.
One reason for the long delay was stated explicitly by Intel CEO Paul Otellini at his company's first-quarter 2008 earnings conference call earlier this month.
"The bulk of our 45-nanometer output starts out in servers, moves to mobile, then moves to desktop," he said. In other words, desktops have last dibs on 45nm parts. There were also rumors about motherboard compatibility problems for all three chips.
Whatever the case, the processors are now offered on select consumer systems from HP and Gateway, among other PC vendors. The Q9550 (2.83GHz) and Q9450 (2.66GHz) integrate 12MB of cache (versus 8MB for older Intel quad-core chips) and attach to a 1,333MHz front-side bus. The Q9300 (2.5GHz) has 6MB of cache. All have a thermal envelope of 95W.
The HP Pavilion Ultimate d4999t series--with a Q9550 processor, 3GB of DDR2-800MHz dual-channel SDRAM memory, an Nvidia GeForce 8400 graphics card (256MB), and a 500GB 7200 SATA hard disk drive--is priced at $1,259.
Gateway offers a FX7026 tower system with a Q9300 processor for $1,099 at Best Buy.
The European Union gave its official blessing to the union of Acer and Packard Bell on Wednesday.
After reviewing the $48.5 million acquisition of Packard Bell by Taiwan-based Acer, the European Commission (the executive branch of the EU) ruled that the two companies as a combined entity would pose no threat to fair competition in the European PC market.
"The Commission's examination showed that the proposed merger would entail horizontal overlaps for desktops and laptops, both for professionals and consumers, at the EEA (European Economic Area) and national levels," the ruling read. "However, the market would remain competitive post-merger in all segments of the PC sector with established alternative suppliers such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, Toshiba, Sony, and Lenovo."
With that settled, Acer now finally has what it was looking for--a legitimate foothold in the European PC market. The Taiwanese PC maker's decision to bid for Packard Bell last fall was twofold: to instantly find currency with European PC buyers using Packard Bell's established branding, as well as block rival Lenovo's similar ambitions in Europe.
With Packard Bell and Gateway under its umbrella, Acer is now the third-largest supplier of PCs in the world, according to data collected by IDC.
From now on, Gateway's desktops are what you see is what you get.
(Credit: Gateway)We didn't notice until a few days ago, but it seems that at the end of 2007, Gateway stopped offering hardware customization options in its desktops and laptops purchased online. Instead when you drill down to a specific system (as we did recently while researching the FX540XG for its upcoming review), we found that Gateway only lets you change add-on software and service plan options. You no longer get to make changes to the hard drives the memory or other hardware components.
Gateway tells us it made the change for four reasons:
- Faster system building
- Simplified shopping experience
- Reduced system complexity should lead to better tech support
- Cost savings from reducing complex IT systems and supply chain
All of those make sense to us, especially when you configure a similar desktop at Dell and watch the price shoot past the Gateway's $2,850 by about $2,000 (with a more expensive chassis and other features). Of course, that also means the Gateway saddles you with a set of 2.1 PC speakers when you might not want them.
Gateway's eMachines brand, which has never offered buyer customization, has been a little hit-or-miss with this model, but mostly hit. Most quarters we're surprised by how much PC you can get for under $500 (like the recent eMachines T3642), but occasionally you actually get less PC for your dollar than the previous quarter. If Gateway can avoid those fluctuations, we can certainly see its new online model benefiting shoppers by narrowing what can seem like a daunting set of choices. And if it can offer a better deal than its competitors in the process, even better.
Now with Penryn: Alienware's Area-51 m15x
(Credit: CNET Networks Inc.)Dell updated its XPS line of laptops earlier this month with Penryn CPU offerings, and now it's sharing Intel's latest mobile processors with its wholly owned subsidiary, Alienware. The Area-51 m15x now offers three Penryn chips, the Core 2 Duo T9300 and the T9500 and the Core 2 Extreme X9000. Pricing starts at $2,149. If you're scoring at home, Dell's 13-inch and 17-inch XPS laptops have received a Penryn update, skipping over the XPS M1530. Meanwhile, Alienware's 15-inch laptop has the Penryn and its 17-inch model does not.
Also with Penryn: Gateway P-171X FX
(Credit: CNET Networks Inc.)Elsewhere, Gateway has made its first Penryn update. The 17-inch P-171X FX is a $2,000 fixed configuration that includes the Core 2 Duo T8300. For more on this laptop, read our recent review of the $3,000 P-171XL FX model, which includes a last-generation Core 2 Extreme X7900 and a suddenly outdated HD DVD drive. Gateway tell us it will be adding Penryn to an M-series laptop "in a few weeks."
For more on Penryn, read our coverage from CES.
The graphics processing unit (GPU) is in, the central processing unit (CPU) is out. That was one of the main themes running through the Nvidia fourth-quarter conference call earlier this week. Nvidia is the largest graphics chip supplier.
Gateway P series FX PC with Geforce 8800 GPU
(Credit: Nvidia, Gateway Computer)During the call on Wednesday, Jen-Hsun Huang, President and CEO of Nvidia, repeated one thing often: GPUs are playing more of a central role in PCs, CPUs less so. "The CPU has become fast enough for the vast majority of (PC) users," he said. "PC enthusiasts, gamers, and design professionals have know this for some time." The GPU offers more horsepower for parallel processing, essential for today's visually rich environments, he said.
Huang cited the Gateway P series notebooks as an example. One model has an Intel 1.6 GHz processor and a GeForce 8800 GPU. He said systems like this with a "higher-end GPU" and "lower-end CPU" are better optimized for today's users. "Relative to a notebook with a higher-end CPU and lower-end GPU, the Gateway FX is twice the performance and yet $200 lower cost." In short, Huang was saying that users can save $200 by buying a system with a low-performance CPU and high-performance GPU--and get better performance to boot than the other way around.
Intel, of course, has other ideas. "We feel that the CPU is absolutely vital and you need a fast CPU and a fast GPU for the best experience. Take game AI (artificial intelligence) and physics for example, something that is consuming more and more CPU cycles," an Intel spokesperson said. "Also, the CPU is essential for intensive stuff like hi def video encode, 3D rendering," the spokesperson said.
Huang had a lot to say about physics too in the wake of Nvidia's purchase of Ageia Technologies this week (first announced on February 4th). Ageia's PhysX software is used with more than 140 PhysX-based games on the Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, and gaming PCs. (Game physics simulate the laws of physics in games.) "We're going to port the Ageia PhysX engine onto CUDA."
CUDA, a programming interface, has now shipped into 50 million GeForce 8 series processors and over the next several years will ship into a few hundred million more, Huang said. "Our expectation is that this will encourage users to buy a second GPU...and for the highest-end gamers, will encourage them to buy three GPUs." One GPU would be used for physics, while two for graphics (or vice-versa), Huang said. "Every single GPU that is CUDA enabled will be able to run the PhysX engine when it comes. In the end, it's just going to be a software download," Huang added.
But Nvidia's CEO returned to his overarching theme again and again. More Nvidia and less Intel. "Rebalance the system so that more GPU horsepower can be dedicated to the (user) experience." Nvidia even has a name for this strategy. The "optimized PC design approach." And Nvidia believes that more and more consumers are coming to know this, resulting in high growth. "The consumption of GPUs is increasing," Huang said, citing 80 percent year-to-year growth in Nvidia's discrete GPU business in the fourth quarter.
"I think I would say that [Huang's argument] has qualified merit. It's completely true that in some applications graphics, rather than CPU, is the limiting factor, and naturally Nvidia would be concerned with those applications most often," said Dean McCarron, founder and Principal of Mercury Research. But Intel and AMD are not standing still. "As far as rebalancing, it's pretty clear the CPU suppliers are actively re-partitioning their products, and graphics capabilities are perhaps the highest priority here. If you look at AMD and Fusion, or Intel and its Nehalem CPUs, both suppliers clearly see advantages to repartioning the PC around graphics -- in this case, moving graphics onto the CPU."
Nvidia's execution is not flawless. It is not competitive in the business segment and at the lower end of desktop and notebook lineups. Large computer segments unto themselves. Here both AMD-ATI graphics and Intel integrated graphics dominate. AMD-ATI is also competitive in the mid-range to high-end.
In related news, Nvidia's shares fell Thursday due to lower gross margins. On Wednesday, the company said that for the first time in 13 quarters non-GAAP gross margins did not increase quarter to quarter. Gross margin shrank to 45.9 percent in the fourth quarter from 46.4 percent in the previous period. In the fourth quarter, the company posted a 58 percent jump in fiscal fourth-quarter net income.
On another front, Nvidia CFO, Marvin D. Burkett, said no new process technology will be needed for the 8800 processors and they will continue to be made on a 90-nanometer process.
Dell XPS M1730
(Credit: Dell)Dell will begin offering Intel's "Penryn" processor as an option on several notebooks within a week or so, according to sources close to the computer giant.
Although the 45-nanometer generation of Penryn processors targeted at laptops was announced back in early January, the chips haven't exactly leaped into laptop lineups.
So far, Hewlett-Packard is the biggest taker of one Penryn chip: the Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2 cache). The HP Pavilion dv6700t, dv9700t, and dv2700t series all use the T9300. The massive 20-inch Pavilion HDX also offers the T9500 (2.6GHz, 6MB cache) as an option.
Gateway has a model in its P Series that uses the T8300 (2.4GHz, 3MB cache).
Toshiba has been one of the most aggressive early adopters. New models from Toshiba include the Satellite X205 based on the T8100 (2.1GHz, 3MB cache), the 4.6-pound Satellite U305 that uses the T8100, and the Qosmio G45 that integrates the T9300.
Dell is not specifying yet which models will get the processors, but the company's high-performance notebooks, such as the XPS, are likely candidates.
45-nanometer Penryn mobile processors
(Credit: Intel)Intel's 45-nanometer mobile processors generally pack around 400 million transistors. One of the most salient features is the larger cache. The higher-end processors integrate 6MB of cache memory versus 4MB for the older 65-nanometer "Merom" generation, and the lower-end chips integrate 3MB versus 2MB for the Merom-class processors. A larger cache generally means better performance.
Let the quad-core competition begin. The arrival of consumer systems based on AMD's quad-core Phenom processor at retail stores will finally bring much-needed four-core rivalry to the high-end PC segment, where, until January, there was only one choice: Intel. Gateway Computer's Phenom-based models had a widely publicized debut at Best Buy this week, making the Irvine, CA-based company the second major U.S. PC vendor after Hewlett-Packard (HP) to adopt the Phenom processor. Earlier in January, Wal-Mart began selling the HP Phenom-based Pavilion M8330F desktop (which, according to Wal-Mart's Web site, is now out of stock).
Gateway's lineup boasts two high-end machines that use the Phenom 9600 (2.3 GHz), as listed on Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics retailer. This marks a subtle but important shift in retail segmentation. Traditionally, AMD has done very well against Intel-based PCs at the low end but had little or nothing to show--in the last 12 months--at the very high end. The latest Phenom arrivals, however, sit at the top of the gaming and entertainment segments, a coveted Intel quad-core haven. For example, one well-equipped Gateway Phenom model is priced at a whopping $1,439.97, high for an AMD retail system. And, more generally, AMD is succeeding in the numbers game, too. Though the ratio of systems using AMD or Intel CPUs can swing radically quarter to quarter or even month to month, out of the 18 Gateway desktop models and package deals listed by Best Buy, 14 are based on AMD processors and only four on Intel chips as of January 31st. Out of the 21 HP models and package deals listed, 13 use AMD processors and eight have Intel chips. Granted, some of those systems are low-end, low-margin models, but the Phenom processor has given more balance to AMD-based lineups. Best Buy also lists three HP systems using the Phenom processor. And add Acer to the list too. Gateway's parent company now sells Phenom systems here. (Note: The combined entities now comprise the third-largest PC company in the world.)
A few qualifiers are warranted, however. AMD needs to prove that it can ship quad-core processors in volume and be ready to face up to problems if they arise. Shipments of AMD quad-cores have been plagued by manufacturing delays and--according to AMD--a rarely occurring TLB bug. The company has said it won't be shipping the B3 stepping (the version that fixes the bug in silicon) of its quad-core processor until late this quarter or early next quarter. Let's hope the current B2 stepping (which relies on a software fix) of the Phenom is available in quantity and that the bug proves to be a non-issue for PC users (as opposed to server customers who use the Barcelona processor in applications more sensitive to the bug ).
Through a rather circuitous route, Acer finally brought home the prize it had long been eyeing: European PC vendor Packard Bell.
The Taiwan-based computer maker officially purchased 75 percent of Packard Bell parent company PB Holdings for $48.5 million, according to a statement made to the Taiwanese Stock Exchange Thursday, PC World is reporting.
Acer has been the fastest growing PC company in the world over the last year, rising through the ranks to become the No. 3 PC vendor at the end of 2007, with 8.9 percent of the overall market, according to research firm Gartner.
It's also set about making its presence known, scooping up U.S. PC maker Gateway in August for $710 million, and declaring its intentions to snatch Packard Bell even when rival Lenovo also publicly expressed interest. Buying Gateway was key for Acer to get the much-smaller Packard Bell, since Gateway possessed the right of first refusal, or right to make any counter offer if another company tried to buy it.
Why Acer wanted the small PC maker with a negligible market presence outside Europe so badly seemed puzzling to some initially. Now the move is seen as a smart defensive strategy to block any attempts by rival Lenovo from increasing its presence in Europe.
On the heels of the gaming-oriented Gateway FX7020, we get a few more desktop announcements this morning from recent Acer-acquisition Gateway, as well as from its eMachines subsidiary.
The Gateway GM5664, depicted with a monitor not included in the $1,150 price tag.
(Credit: Gateway)The most interesting component of this news is the hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD drive coming to Gateway's new, retail-only GM5664 desktop. The system includes a quad core AMD Phenom 9600 CPU, a 1TB hard drive, and a 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics card for $1,150. That's not a bad configuration for the price, especially the hard drive. However, if it's the Blu-ray and HD DVD playback you're after, the $949 HP Pavilion SlimLine s3330f has a better price and a more living room-friendly chassis. The similar, non-HD, 500GB hard drive-equipped Gateway GT5662 also debuted today for $750.
As for eMachines, it remains committed to bringing you dual-core PCs on the cheap. We're glad to see that it has embraced AMD's full-fledged Athlon X2 chips, rather than the half-baked AMD Sempron chips it had lying around the warehouse. The T5246 offers the Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2GB of RAM, a 400GB hard drive, and a dual-format DVD burner for $430. That's about as much computer as you would need for basic Windows Vista usage. Further down the budget scale, eMachines still has a single-core PC to offer with the $350 T3642 and its Athlon 64 4000+ chip.
